Condensed Operating Instructions - Orban 424A Operating Manual

Condensed
Operating
Instructions
These
instructions are primarily designed to help you get started
using
your
422A/424A.
(The
later parts of
your
OPERATING
MANUAL
contain
much more
detail,
and
will
help you get the
most from
your
422A/424A
after
you
have
become
familiar with the
basics.)
Operationally, the
422A/424A
can be considered
to be
a
basic compressor/li
miter
with enhancements.
If
you are
just
beginning
to learn
about
it,
or
if
you
only
need
basic
compressor functions, you needn't
worry
about these
enhancements.
Most
of the
enhancements
are associated with the Gating function.
If
the
GATE
THRESHold
control
is
turned
OFF
(fully counterclockwise), these
enhancements
are
not operative and need not concern you now.
To Use The Compressor/Limiter:
Preset the following controls:
REL SHAPE
GATE THRESH
OUTPUT
TRIM
IDLE
GAIN
COMP/LIMITER OPERATE/DEFEAT
DE-ESSER OPERATE/DEFEAT
LIN
OFF
0
(at
the detent)
0
OPERATE
DEFEAT
You
then
need
to
deal with only
four familiar controls:
INPUT
ATTENuator,
RATIO,
ATTACK
TIME, and
RELEASE
TIME. These
controls are
always
adjusted
by
ear to obtain the
desired
sound.
If
you
have
used
any
common
professional
compressor
or limiter
before, these controls should operate
intuitively:
I)
Adjust the
INPUT ATTENuator
control
until
the
GAIN REDUCTION
(G/R)
meter
indicates the desired
amount
of
G/R.
Don't
let
the
G/R
meter
enter
the
red section of the scale.
2)
Adjust the
RATIO
control
to
determine
if
compression
will
be
"tight"
or
"loose". "Tight"
means
that a
large increase
in
input level
will
produce
a small
increase
in
output
level.
As
the
ratio
becomes
"looser",
the output
level
will
change more
and
more
for
a given
change
in
input level.
2:1
is
the "loosest"
ratio;
i
nf
inity:
I
is
the "tightest".
"Looser"
ratios
tend
to
give
more
natural,
dynamic
sound
at
the expense
of lower loudness and
less
consistent
levels.
(Adjusting the
RATIO
control to "looser" settings
automatically
lowers the
compression threshold
to
prevent peak overload
of the
422A/424A
circuitry
or
of the
device being
driven by the
422A/424A when
high
amounts
of
gain
reduction are used.)
3)
Adjust
the
ATTACK
TIME
control to
determine
how
quickly the
422A/424A
responds
to
an input
level increase. Fast attack times produce the
most
consistent control
of
peak
levels (and therefore produce highest loudness).
However,
their effect tends
to
be
more
audible than that of slow attack times.
Slow
attack times permit
transient
material
to
pass through the
422A/424A
unaffected,
so that transient definition
is
retained.
(To prevent transient overshoots permitted
by
slow
attack
times from
overloading
either the
422A/424A
circuitry or devices being driven
by the
422A/424A,
the threshold of compression
is
reduced
as the attack
time
is
made
slower. This
way, the peak
level at
the output remains approximately constant
as the
ATTACK
TIME
control
is
adjusted.)